| Part of a series on |
| Cannabis |
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 Location of the Cook Islands (red) | |
| Medicinal | Legal |
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| Recreational | Illegal |
Cannabis in the Cook Islands is illegal for recreational purposes. A non-binding referendum to legalise it for medicinal purposes passed with 62% in 2022, but legislation has not yet been enacted. [1]
In 2010, Cook Islands Police and New Zealand Police launched Operation Eagle, arresting the son of a prominent local politician, and two former police officers. [2]
The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These policies in most countries are regulated by three United Nations treaties: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Cannabis was reclassified in 2020 to a Schedule I-only drug under the Single Convention treaty, with the schedules from strictest to least being IV, I, II, and III. As a Schedule I drug under the treaty, countries can allow the medical use of cannabis but it is considered to be an addictive drug with a serious risk of abuse.
The Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics (ACT) is an organization supporting medical marijuana that was founded in 1981 by Robert C. Randall and Alice O'Leary. Following his diagnosis of glaucoma, Randall appealed to the U.S. government for the ability to access medical marijuana to treat his condition. In 1976, after a non-jury trial and four months of deliberation, D.C. Superior Court Justice Judge James Washington found Randall not guilty of marijuana possession by reason of medical necessity. Moreover, the FDA included Randall in a research program in which he received ten marijuana cigarettes a day to treat his glaucoma. Randall was the first person known to have successfully used medical necessity as a defense against a charge of marijuana possession in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
The use of cannabis in New Zealand is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of cannabis a crime. Cannabis is the fourth-most widely used recreational drug in New Zealand, after caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, and the most widely used illicit drug. In 2001 a household survey revealed that 13.4% of New Zealanders aged 15–64 used cannabis. This ranked as the ninth-highest cannabis consumption level in the world.
Cannabis in the United Kingdom is illegal for recreational use and is classified as a Class B drug. In 2004, the United Kingdom made cannabis a Class C drug with less severe penalties, but it was moved back to Class B in 2009. Medical use of cannabis, when prescribed by a registered specialist doctor, was legalised in November 2018.
Cannabis is a plant used in Australia for recreational, medicinal and industrial purposes. In 2022–23, 41% of Australians over the age of fourteen years had used cannabis in their lifetime and 11.5% had used cannabis in the last 12 months.
Cannabis in Ireland is illegal for recreational purposes. Use for medical purposes requires case-by-case approval by the Minister for Health. A bill to legalise medical uses of cannabis passed second reading in Dáil Éireann in December 2016, but was rejected by the Oireachtas Health Committee in 2017.
Cannabis is illegal in Malaysia, although there are talks to make exceptions for medical purposes. Recreational use of cannabis is illegal under Malaysian laws, while the use of cannabis for medical, experimental, educational and research purposes are subjected to the authorization of Minister of Health, and may only be carried out by a public officer.
Cannabis in Sri Lanka is legally sold through Ayurveda herbal shops, and can be used for medical and scientific purposes if given a license by the Ministry of Health. For recreational usage cannabis is not legal. However, cannabis plays a major role in the traditional culture of the island, with the specific Sinhalese or Sanskrit names virapati (“hero-leaved”), capta (“light-hearted”), ananda (“bliss”), trilok kamaya and harshini indicating its various properties, such as inducing euphoria and heightening sexual energy.
Cannabis in Ukraine is legal for medical, industrial purposes, and scientific and scientific-technical activities.
Cannabis in the Cayman Islands has been legal for medical purposes since 2017. The use of cannabis for recreational purposes still remains prohibited.
Cannabis in Zambia is illegal for recreational use. In December 2019, by unanimous decision, it was legalized for export and medicinal purposes only. Cannabis is known as Zam-Blaze,"chamba", chwang, or dobo in Zambia.
Cannabis in Seychelles is illegal, with cultivation, possession and sale of the substance banned. Regardless of this, the controlled substance has seen continual use within Seychelles, with statistics indicating that more than a quarter of the nation's population are users of the drug, as well as use evident amongst adolescents. The drug is ingested in a variety of forms for medicinal or recreational use.
Cannabis in Rwanda is legal for medicinal purposes, but illegal for recreational purposes.
Cannabis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal for industrial, medicinal and scientific use. It continues to be illegal for recreational use.
Cannabis is illegal in Samoa.
Cannabis in Monaco is illegal. The production, sale, and possession of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes being a criminal offense with a penalty of up to one year in jail in addition to a fine of up to €1680. Despite the strong laws, the police and courts are often lenient, letting offenders off with a warning.
Cannabis in Kiribati is illegal with severe punishments for the production, sale, and possession of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. A 2011 survey of young people, found that 6.8% of males and 1.6% of females had ever used cannabis.
The production, sale and possession of cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes is illegal in the Solomon Islands. Offenders receive a fine of up to $100,000 or imprisonment for up to ten years. A 2011 survey of young people found that 16.1% of males and 11.1% of females had ever used cannabis.
Cannabis in Tuvalu is illegal with severe punishments for the production, sale, and possession of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. Due to the nation's high development index, illegal substance abuse effectively does not exist in Tuvalu and there were no reports of drug-related crimes on Tuvalu in 2019 or 2020.
Cannabis in Kosovo is illegal for both medicinal or recreational purposes. Penalties are defined by Article 269 of the Kosovo Criminal Code, last revised in January 2019. For first-time offenders, possession of illicit substances leads to either a one-year sentence or, more likely, a financial penalty of €250-300. A 2014 survey of 5500 reported that 10% of Kosovans knew someone who had used cannabis and 12.6% reported having easy access to cannabis.
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